About Us

Ko`ihonua is a not for profit organization dedicated to reclaiming and providing cultural space for our lāhui to learn/practice/engage in Hawaiian traditions and practices.

We are reestablishing lo`i kalo, clearing land for mala, planting native and non-native food and other cultural use plants. We call our home site Hanakehau Learning Farm because because, in addition to plants, we seek to grow our lahui.

Located in Waiawa Makai, on the shores Pu`uloa, we are working to restore `āina in an area heavily impacted by a long history of military misuse, illegal dumping, and pollution.

Mission: to reclaim and to restore Hawaiian lands and provide the means and resources for Hawaiians to enagage in traditional practices by creating Hawaiian cultural space. Much of our work is focused on hana no`eau — creating traditional and modern Hawaiian implements — and using those implements in our daily practice to grow our Hawaiian consciousness and understanding.

Vision: a future in which cultural practice is once again integrated into the daily lives of our people along with the consciousness and kuleana that goes with it. Makua, through their every day routines, transfer the `ike of the hana no`eau to their keiki who are knowledgeable, comfortable, and humble in their practice. Where pohaku ku`i`ai and other implements are used to pound kalo and not gathering dust on display shelves.

Our vision for Ko’ihonua revolves around self-determination as it is expressed in all aspects of our lives. It is not about being beholden to funders and their objectives. For us, independence means self-reliance. Sustainability is about not being dependent it’s about interdependence. We move with patience and accept that self-determination takes time, diligence, and vigilant attention. We are accountable to ourselves, our ‘ohana, our community, and our lāhui – only with the support of all three can we survive.